The Moment: A Boy And His Blob (Wii)

Back in the early 90’s, Adventure games on consoles weren’t popular or plentiful compared what they are now. We had invested in platformers, shoot’em ups, board games and tv show titles, and other genres. One of these games was A Boy and His Blob: Trouble In Blobolonia. A 2D side-scrolling adventure game where you had limited beans that give specific powers and allow blob to get pass obstacles and enemies.

With Maniac Mansion being on the NES, A Boy And His Blob had a niche following before it disappeared from the conversation. Over time, many had forgotten the title and the name until Wayforward made an announcement that the game was receiving a reimagine with new art. It was also being released on the Wii. With a new generation and some retro players being overjoyed by the news.

Released on October 13, 2009, on Wii and 7 years later on other consoles, A Boy And His Blob was a mild success and Wayforward, being an established company of great titles, A Boy And Blob surprise on how well done the game was made. The thing that captured most gamers besides the colorful and lushes art was that the game had a hug button. It allowed the boy to just hug blob for no apparent reason. It was just a nice and simple touch that made the game great and cool.

I never got to play the original on the NES. It was a genre that didn’t attract me to it. Being 10 at the time, my NES love was for action, platformers, and shmups. Some goofy sports games and weird Japanese titles that had different names than the actual name in Japan. Also the Sega Master Systems.

When I saw this game on the Wii, it was a must. Just the animation and art in the game made me want it. When I did get the title and learn how the mechanics work, I just had a moment of “Okami” flash upon me. It got me on seeing the boy and blob in action. Throwing the beans and solving the puzzles and seeing how things work, made me feel nostalgic for puzzles that made me think and go for that trial and error gameplay.

Animation has been a huge part of my life. I love anime and art in general. As a kid, I loved looking into EGM or Gamepro and drawing from the ads in the book. Though my artwork wasn’t as professional as the page it came from, it provided me with happiness just because it gave me a purpose to create. Boy and His Blob on Wii and Okami made me feel what its like to have hand drawn looking art. The animation in these games just surprised me on why art like this doesn’t get appreciated and used more in today titles.

I wish I did keep my pencil artwork. I never became good at art but that sitting at a desk or table with my gaming bibles out and drawing was peaceful. A Boy and his Blob reminded me of that. The moment I spent with the game kept me feeling like a kid and why art is always going to be a big part of my life. I may not be able to create that kind of work but it reminded me why I love to draw. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.

About EddieV

Having a foundation in Video Games since the Atari 2600, I been in love with the industry and creativity that has been release to the world. Playing over 500 games for 30 years, I have created a lot of memories that these games have given me. I continue to write about them and podcast about them in a different way on my show, Optional Opinion. You can find it on Soundcloud and theanomalistradionetwork.net.